Tag Archives: chequamegon national forest

A Few Days in Northern Wisconsin

July 16, 2022 Troy

The summer solstice had just passed saying goodbye to spring and welcoming the long days of sunlight. What better way to begin these summer days than camping in Northern Wisconsin? Earlier in the year, one of my old college friends had reached out to see if I would be interested in joining him at Lost Lake. A place we have visited a number of times over the last few years. With great memories of fishing, exploring the numerous lakes in around the Chequamegon National Forest, and relaxing by the fire under a star filled sky, I couldn’t wait to return for a few days. Having spent a lot of time working over the last month and a half, my goal was to spend my time relaxing and catching up on sleep when possible.

The best of plans… My first morning I tried to stay in bed enjoying the cool, fresh air with great difficulty. I even tried reading for awhile to put me back to sleep. Finally I slipped out of bed as quietly as possible and walked to the shores of Lost Lake to welcome the day. Soon the sun was shining into the forest and the lake started to come to life with loons, osprey, and fish jumping above the water. With my cup of warm tea, I sat at the waters edge just watching the calm lake and all of the birds fluttering from branch to branch in search of their morning meals. In time, I was joined by others taking in the morning sun before heading back to the cabin for breakfast. Through the day there was exploring and fishing to be done. Not a lot of success on the fishing portion of the day however I did come across a few bogs to examine. These are fascinating landscapes with sphagnum moss covering nearly everything in these low pH environments surrounding by water. Not a lot of plants can survive in these places.

Night once again returned while cooking smores over the mesmerizing fire as the flames danced around our marshmallows. In the darkness the stars littered the sky like glitter dancing in the air. What a calming and humbling sight to end this beautiful day in a forest of Northern Wisconsin. On one my last trip to the bathroom, there was a large moth just hanging out under the outside light. It was a Cercropia moth remaining motionless allowing me to grab a couple of photos before saying goodnight. Moments later I was crawling back into bed, more calm and relaxed than the night before. There’s nothing like a day hanging out with friends in the north woods to feel life’s stresses float away….if even only for a few refreshing moments.

Camping, Troy's Blog

A Little R & R in Northern Wisconsin

July 10, 2021 Troy

The summer solstice had arrived. A day I’ve come to celebrate when possible by heading to a place to camp and take in the sunrise and sunset trying to enjoy the entire day outdoors enjoying the most sunlight of any day of the year. It can be a bit challenging with sunrise at 5:30am and sunset lasting until 9pm. This year it occurred on Father’s Day as well so I started out the morning traveling to see my dad for breakfast not being able to see the sun rise as clouds covered the skies. Just before lunch I said goodbye to my father wishing him one last Happy Fathers Day and continued my journey to Northern Wisconsin where I would meet up with an old college friend for a few days of camping at Lost Lake. A place we had met a few times before and were beginning to get very familiar with. Arriving in the late afternoon, rain was falling. According to my friend, it had begun to fall 45 minutes earlier. It would last throughout most of the night hiding the setting sun. We cooked our evening meal under the cover of umbrella and moved indoors to eat. This was the first time I could remember that clouds covered the sky during both the sunrise and sunset for the summer solstice. Certainly a unique year but I still enjoyed this solstice.

Getting up the next morning rain was falling periodically but slowing down. Once I could no longer her drops hitting the trees above I decided to venture outside to the water soaked landscape. The wind was blowing quite strongly now and continued that way throughout much of the day. This seemed like a good day to explore more of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest by car. We needed a few supplies also so found a store to get our items. Along the way there was an ice cream shop which looked very appetizing. With so many flavors to choose from it took extra time before deciding on the perfect one to sit and enjoy. This also seemed like a great opportunity to explore the National Forest Visitor’s Center to learn more about the area we were in. Mid afternoon had quickly moved upon us as we began to work our way back to Lost Lake. Along the way there was a State Natural Area which we decided to explore some. This was a tree filled area blocking much of the wind making it more comfortable as we wandered around ferns and fallen logs to see what plants may be growing here. We found mint, irises in peak bloom, and birch covered in beautiful mosses and lichens typical of a northern forest. Before wandering too far and getting lost we headed back towards the car making our way to the lake and cabin to begin a campfire and our evening meal. I couldn’t believe how quickly the day went for this first day of summer. Not that it felt anything like summer with temperatures in the 50’s F with strong winds blowing out of the north requiring sweatshirts and jackets.

The next morning was met with calmer winds and colder temperatures. Thankfully I had brought a heater with expecting some cold which kept the cabin at a more comfortable sleeping temperature. Opening the door I was hit by a cold blast as I entered the forested campground. Quickly a cup of hot tea was brewed to help take some of this chill out of the air. With less wind I decided to try a little fishing with some success but not enough to make a meal out of. Soon I returned to the cabin to cook a warm meal. This needed to be eaten quickly as the cold swiftly stole any heat. With a full stomach we began driving the gravel roads of this National Forest in search of a place out of the increasing wind to try our luck at fishing. There was some luck but nothing extremely exciting. After awhile I modified my fishing line and attached my GoPro camera to it. The water was pretty clear so I decided to see how tossing a camera in the water would work. This became quite fun flinging the little action camera out into the lake and bringing it back. Unfortunately the video really wasn’t very good or interesting but it was fun to try. Having had our fill of fishing we headed back to our shelter to begin a campfire and cook a stew over the open flame. As darkness began to arrive, a sliver of sun shown through the clouds. I grabbed the camera in hopes of a beautiful sunset but all I could capture was trickle of pinks near the horizon which reflected beautifully in the water.

On our last morning at Lost Lake, I got up for the sunrise knowing the clouds were beginning to break up overnight and went to the shore to enjoy the calm water. There was alight fog floating over the water making this a beautiful beginning to this day. As I gazed over the lake I watched and Eagle hovering and soaring to the waters surface looking to snag its first meal of the day. Soon after an Osprey smashed into the water quickly retreating with its morning meal. Life was returning as the sun continued it’s steady journey across the sky. I wandered along the shoreline taking in the early morning landscape with the fog covered water and irises in bloom before heading back to our cabin to grab a pole and get in a few more casts. Again I had a little success but then had to pack up as it would be along day of driving. Before exiting the National Forest I decided to make a quick stop at a wildlife viewing location to discover this small, secluded pond created by an earthen dam built over a small creek. It was a beautiful spot that I’ll have to come back to if I ever return to this area again. Back on the road I continued towards busier roads signaling my return home. It wasn’t the camping experience I was hoping for but I did enjoy the time to catch up on some rest and spend a little time out in nature.

Adventures, Camping, Troy's Blog

Return to Lost Lake

September 9, 2018 Troy

After my trip to Lost Lake in July I couldn’t wait to return having so much fun the first time and much more to explore that just wouldn’t wait until next year. So a few days after getting home I booked Labor Day weekend for another extended weekend of exploring, fishing, and campfires. Even though it marked the end of summer I was eager with anticipation of what was in store for a second visit to the cabins for weeks beforehand. The summer goes so fast as it is that I try to never look forward to upcoming events, but enjoy the things that are happening in the moment so as to not rush the summer away. As hard as I tried I couldn’t keep my mind off camping in the north woods of Wisconsin and I was not disappointed. Why is this area so much fun? For me it has to do with a number of things. First off it is a beautiful area full of lakes, scenery, and wildlife and I can just take it all in without the responsibilities of every day routines. Secondly I get to just be me and basically relax. There’s no being a father, husband, or son for a few days which can be a nice break. I love being those things but a break is kind of nice once in a while. And lastly I like heading to this area of Wisconsin because I get to see an old college friend and hangout doing whatever we want to do whether that’s fishing all afternoon, playing with our cameras trying to capture the beauty of the area, or exploring a new lake or trail.

On this trip it almost felt like a completely different place. Yes the lake is still there with the resident loon and the roads are the same but so many things around us gave new adventures. First off shorter days made a huge impact which I wasn’t fully expecting. It felt as though a good part of the day had already disappeared by the time day light became bright enough to see which just had a domino effect the rest of the day with everything happening later. Yes I was aware of earlier sunsets and later sunrises but the days flew by even faster than I anticipated as often we would be preparing dinner by lantern and fire instead of eating under a setting sun. The fire would just get going nicely when the yawns could no long be ignored and it was time to retreat to bed for the night although one of the nights we did continue to fight the tiredness and photograph the night sky. Some of the other differences between the July and September visits where clouds and rain, mushrooms, waterfalls, and light painting.

Our second night in the Chequamegon National Forest we found an area on a nearby lake where we could take in the sunset as the forecast called for clouds skies and some rain over the next few days so that was possibly the only opportunity to watch a beautiful sunset and we were not disappointed. As it turned out that was the last visible sunset during the rest of our time there. During our last night a nice thunderstorm rolled through completing the camping experience. Because there was so much rain mushrooms were popping up all over. It seemed as though I would photograph one and only a short distance away there would be another different, interesting mushroom. We lost count how many different mushrooms we saw and photographed over our long weekend there. I’ll probably do another post on only the mushrooms of Lost Lake. There is a waterfall drive in the area we were in which shows off a number of different rapids and small waterfalls. Even though they are not very high they are still mesmerizing to watch and listen to and well worth some time to explore which is something we didn’t do on our first visit to the area.

During one of the nights sitting by the camp fire we looked up and notice a break in the clouds revealing the numerous stars shining across the sky so we quickly grabbed a camera and some lights and headed to lake side for a little nighttime fun. The clouds really seemed to add drama to the night sky making for interesting photographs. Also we decided to attempt light painting which turned out great and was fun to play with. That started as night fishing with lighted bobbers and turned into photography experiments since the fish weren’t really interested in eating anyway. While there were these different things to explore there were some things missing which made this a different experience. There were a lot less frogs, no red dragonflies, and few butterflies. Fortunately there were also less mosquitoes even though they really weren’t all that bad in July. All of these changes made for a unique experience that finally satisfied my urge to camp at Lost Lake again this year. It does seem to be only a temporary sense of completeness as there is talk of returning next summer for another opportunity to enjoy these surrounding again.

Adventure, Troy's Blog

Under the Surface of Lost Lake

August 12, 2018 Troy

On a recent trip to Lost Lake in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest I read that the water clarity was pretty good so I brought my mask, snorkel. and of course the GoPro to explore the lake under the surface. I’ve never snorkeled in fresh water before so this would be a new experience. In salt water it’s pretty easy to stay afloat due to the high density of that water but fresh water I tend to sink rather easily so was nervous to try snorkeling in deeper water. Lost Lake seemed like a good spot to try as there is a lot of shallower places to swim allowing me to touch the bottom if needed.

My first adventure into the water brought several interesting observations for me. First, the water was a little cool but didn’t take any more than a few seconds to get use to which was nice. Next, the water clarity wasn’t quite as good as I was hoping for and finally, snorkeling in fresh water wasn’t much different than in salt water as far as being able to maintain my ability to float. I wished I had brought my fins once this was discovered because it was challenging to swim while holding a camera. Fins would make it easier to move forward while using the GoPro to record these beautiful fish.

I found it easier to move around by using my feet on the ground but that brought up a lot of the decaying organic debris into the water making the clarity even less. Some of the surrounding fish seemed to be happy with me doing that as I’m sure I was stirring up food with the debris. Once being able to move around a little easier I was able to focus more on the different fish, their behaviors, and the underwater landscape which was really interesting. There are pumpkinseed pan fish, perch, small mouth bass, and trout listed to be in Lost Lake. I didn’t see any trout but found the others lurking in weeds.

The landscape underneath the surface proved to be quite interesting with a combination of living and dead vegetation. Scanning through the weeds at different points there would be fish or two swimming in between them but if I stayed there for a minute or so there would soon be a large school surrounding me. I began to think there would be nightmares later that night of fish attaching from every direction. Fortunately that did not happen! At one point I just stayed in a single spot and turned completely around only to find fish in every direction staring at me. It was kind of cool and a little creepy at the same time.

Every so often I would come across a bare spot in the floor of the lake. As I watched some of these areas a larger pumpkinseed would return and begin to flare its gills and fins at me in defense of this spot it had previously cleaned off as a nest. I would move towards it and scare this fish away only to have it return a short time later. This wasn’t something I would do repeatedly as I didn’t want it to abandon the nest but found this behavior interesting as I was many times larger than the fish. After swimming among the fishes for awhile I returned to the shore to dry off eagerly wanted to go fishing. It almost seemed like cheating a little because I had found certain areas for certain fish so knew where to cast. That didn’t mean I necessarily caught them even though I had a good idea where they were. Another freshwater snorkeling adventure is definitely on my agenda when I get a chance.

Adventures, Camping, Troy's Blog

Lost Lake

July 20, 2018 Troy

Just after the Independence Day holiday in the United States I ventured off to Western Wisconsin with an old time friend from college to explore the Lost Lake area in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. This was my first time camping in a national forest and this was a great spot for my first attempt. I’ve read that if you’re going to a National Park you should often check out a nearby national forest for accommodations which are often more available and can be more affordable.

The cabins at Lost Lake were renovated in 2012 under the federal stimulus and provide a fun and affordable trip in well kept facilities in the beautiful Northwood’s of Wisconsin. The cabin we stayed in can accommodate up to 6 people with plenty of room. Fortunately the weather was absolutely perfect with daytime temperatures in the lower 80’s Fahrenheit for enjoying the area lakes and cooling off to the upper 50’s during the night for great evening sleeping.

There are several lakes in the area to explore but we always returned to Lost Lake for some swimming, fishing, and wildlife watching. It’s a small lake which does not allow any boat motors keeping it peaceful for all to enjoy either by swimming, fishing, or kayaking. I would get up at sunrise or shortly there after to enjoy the calm, quiet lake and watch a local loon or eagles fishing. A great break from the busy daily routines I’m commonly use to.

One of the creatures in abundance at Lost Lake are a frogs which can be heard throughout the day and into the night. Once I figured out what they looked like under the water with only their heads peering out at me it got a little frightening. At one point I counted over twenty frogs staring at me and several times more than a dozen just watching me. I was certain there would be nightmares about frogs attaching me during the night but fortunately that did not happen. Large bullfrogs can be found and heard all around the lake. I kept waiting for them to say ‘bud’ with another answering with ‘wise’ with ‘errrrr’ being croaked off in the distance. For those who don’t know this was a commercial created for Budweiser many years ago.

After enjoying a fire near the cabin one night I ventured down by the water to take in the night sky. The number of stars shining and reflecting in the water was just breathtaking. My plan was to take a few pictures and retreat to bed for the night as it had been a long day and I wanted to get up for the sunrise the next morning. After photographing and enjoying the night sky with peaceful sounds of frogs for over an hour I decided it was time to call it quits. After a few hours of some great sleep I drug myself out of bed to watch the sun appear over the horizon the next (actually the same) morning.

Light began showing in the sky way too early in July in Northern Wisconsin. I ended up getting out of bed at 4:45 in the morning with plenty of light to see my way from the cabin to the lake to witness the sun coming up an hour later. While I only got just under 4 hours of sleep that night there was no hint of being tired as the morning was so calm and peaceful it almost didn’t feel real. Fortunately I have photos that tell me otherwise. Clouds didn’t cooperate in the morning to provide one of those amazing sunrises with a colorful sky and while there was some fog on the lake I was hoping for more. Still watching the world come to life with birds moving to and fro while the loon and eagles began to wake up and start searching for food was well worth getting up for. Besides, if there were clouds for the sunrise there probably would have been clouds blocking all the stars just hours before.

During one of our afternoon just relaxing by the lake I brought my camera with the longest lens I have just in case there was something to capture. The resident loon kept its distance preventing a nice close up shot but that was ok. I was taking a picture of some of the frogs staring back at me when my college friend called out my name with a bit of a sense of urgency. I was all set up for my photo when he called again with a bit louder tone in his voice telling me I needed to look up only to see and eagle incoming. Turning the camera towards this majestic bird I focused in on it just in case it got closer and dove into the water in search of a fish. Shortly after I got focused in on it, the eagle did begin a quick descent towards the water only to grab a fish and retreat to a nearby tree to consume its fresh catch. Looking back at the camera I realized I caught this with a couple of frames which was fun to see even if it was from across the lake. Zooming out a little further I saw the reaction of a couple of kids floating at the beach as this eagle dove down right in front of them. What a sight that must have been! One of my favorite photos from our time at Lost Lake. It was such a great time I’m going back in September to do it again before camping season comes to a close.

Adventure, Lake Superior, Troy's Blog

Fun in the Snow

March 12, 2016 Troy 1 Comment

In early January there was a discussion on getting out on snowmobiles this winter with my cousin and brother for a guys weekend in Northern Wisconsin. Well, that was unless my wife decided she wanted to join us. The first weekend in March was the date set but as warm as winter was we weren’t completely sure there would be enough snow on the trails to go. A couple of weeks before the chosen date we were a little more comfortable so we reserved a couple of sleds, since my brother was unable to go, with the option of canceling if the snow melted before the first weekend in March which was entirely possible as forecasts called for 50’s or warmer the weekend before with possible rain to follow and no snow in the forecast to replenish what melted.

As the day approached my cousin and I kept a close eye on the trail reports wondering if the trails would remain open for us. Two nights before we decided to reserve our hotel room as well because the trails were most likely going to be open and our day in the snow at 70 miles per hour would be on. We were expecting icy trails especially on the turns making the snowmobiling experience a little less exciting but a day on the trails is still better than a day working. Soon after getting the sleds and hitting the trails we found the trails to be in great shape with no ice and a good base of most of them. To make it even better, fresh snow fell while we were out tearing across the trails. In the photo above you typically would see some of the Apostle Islands, home of the famous ice caves, behind us but the snow was falling heavily enough it blocked the view of them.

For me, it was an amazing adventure as it has been a few years since I was last on a snowmobile. Way too long! I had forgotten how much fun it is to weave through the forests of Northern Wisconsin near Lake Superior with nothing but the roar of the engine and the wind smashing against your helmet. There’s an excitement when your moving at 60 miles an hour flying by trees and feeling the sled wobble beneath you giving you the feeling that a slight wrong move could cause you to lose control. It sounds dangerous and it can be. There are only specific situations to get going that fast and hope that a deer doesn’t bounce in front of you. At those times it is a very freeing calmness and heightened awareness of what’s in front of you.

The rest of the time you are traveling around 30 miles per hour maneuvering around turns and climbing up and down the hills enjoying the sights passing you by. It was a challenge for me not to stop every couple of hundred feet and take pictures of the amazing landscape covered in a fresh blanket of falling snow. The choice was to explore more trails or stop more frequently to photograph the sights currently around us. Most of the time I opted for exploring more trails.

For a short time I attached the GoPro to the snowmobile for a different perspective. In the photograph above you can see white streaks in front of the sled. These are snowflakes capturing the headlights on the snowmobile. It kind of looks like preparing for warp speed through space. Using the camera on the sled was a little challenging because the constant vibrations would shake it loose and I didn’t bring the appropriate attachments to secure it better.

In one area there was a bridge which spanned the Brule River. I did have to stop and turn around to photograph this scene. It just looked like the perfect scene of winter. When I imagine a winter landscape it either has mountains in it or a river flowing through a forest covered in snow. Pretty much what you see in the picture above and below. This was a great adventure that I hope to repeat next winter!

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